


my time, my space, my destiny

by mayuaka



Series: your spirit lies with mine [1]
Category: Compilation of Final Fantasy VII
Genre: Alternate Universe - Demons, M/M, based on the bartimaeus sequence, but no knowledge on it needed
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-05
Updated: 2020-06-13
Packaged: 2021-03-03 19:15:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,776
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24550678
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mayuaka/pseuds/mayuaka
Summary: The child’s eyes were a brilliant blue, filled with awe. “You’re...Sephiroth?”Oh, this would bewonderful.“Why have you summoned me, child?”The boy narrowed his gaze. “I’m not—” He paused and seemed to remember that he was speaking to the most feared and well-known spirit on the Planet, then looked sheepish. “I didn’t expect it to work.”
Relationships: Sephiroth/Cloud Strife
Series: your spirit lies with mine [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1784065
Comments: 10
Kudos: 288





	1. Chapter 1

There was no measure of time in the Lifestream, though he felt that his period of dismissal had been cut short; there must have been an emergency. He adopted his regular form, as adjusted to his own liking: a human beautiful enough to almost be inhuman, with long flowing silver hair and bright green cat-slit eyes that were just the right side of unnerving. The clothing was a more intimidating and showy variation on what the highest level human magicians wore. He was meant to seem like one of them, while they all bit back their fear at what he could do—but couldn’t, on account of his orders, meticulous enough without any loopholes. Shinra’s magic department was the pinnacle of human greed and maliciousness, and he felt pity for the lesser spirits stuck in those disgusting laboratories. 

He expected to hear the usual litany of charges—maintain this form unless threatened, only kill those he was ordered to, et cetera. Once a new recruit had stumbled a bit and he’d gotten partway through consuming them whole before he had to stop to cast a Barrier, blocking the high level Firaga aimed at him by the head of the department, Hojo. From then on Hojo himself read the charges every time he was summoned.

However, he saw a child standing in the pentacle across from the one he was in. So, so young, even by human standards. What was a child doing summoning him? And so coincidentally when he’d been dismissed for the night?

Ideally, Shinra would keep him tethered forever, but his essence would only wane if not allowed to rest. Any other magician would not dare to attempt to summon him, as his dismissal times were kept secret and rumors were spread that it took at least four to do so in the first place. (It did, but he’d been worn down over the years. Nowadays he simply shifted into this form and listened, because it got him out faster. He suspected that his complacency had allowed the kid to summon him so easily.)

He had seen little but the inside of the Shinra building and the battlefields of Wutai lately, and the child’s room was a nice change. The bed had been shoved aside to just barely make enough room for the pentacles. It was impressive work for a child—not a single mark out of place. He was tempted to perhaps change form to see his eyes widen in terror; Shinra magicians were far too experienced in remaining calm and weren’t any fun. He was more curious, though. Besides, more time he spent here meant less time with Shinra. A quick glance out the window told him that he only had an hour until dawn, when they would realize he was gone.

The child’s eyes were a brilliant blue, filled with awe. “You’re...Sephiroth?”

Oh, this would be _wonderful._ “Why have you summoned me, child?”

The boy narrowed his gaze. “I’m not—” He paused and seemed to remember that he was speaking to the most feared and well-known spirit on the Planet, then looked sheepish. “I didn’t expect it to work.”

Magicians (and humans in general) were usually rather easy to predict. Greed fueled most, combined with a sick curiosity; righteousness was rarer but just as simple. Pure curiosity (and stupidity) he had never encountered. He was properly baffled, at a serious loss for words.

Then he regained his composure. If the child knew close to nothing, it couldn’t hurt to try. He leaned as close as he could without crossing the pentacle, a pleasant smile on his face. “What is your name?”

“I am _not_ falling for that.” Blue eyes flashed in annoyance. “I’m not stupid.”

“And yet you summoned me, Sephiroth, great demon of Wutai, Shinra’s greatest achievement, with no clear goal in mind and a slightly smudged pentacle.” (The titles were for intimidation only, he did not particularly care for them.) The boy instantly glanced down to check the chalk markings, found nothing, then realized he was being tricked. Sephiroth grinned in amusement. If it _had_ been smudged, even the tiniest bit, he wouldn’t be alive.

It would be very easy to manipulate the child into slipping up, but he was getting less inclined to devour him. He would only be able to return to the Lifestream for a brief respite before getting resummoned without any proper rest. Staying here, while Shinra magicians panicked and wasted their time and energy attempting to summon him or figure out who had summoned him, was preferable. Especially when the child could not possibly have the capacity to order him to burn down the surrounding village and slay an endless amount of magicians and spirits alike. 

“A-anyways,” the boy stammered, trying desperately not to cower, “I really didn’t think it would work. So, um, I’ll just dismiss you now, so you can get back to—”

“Wait.” He held up a hand. He was sure that no spirit in recent millenia had ever refused a dismissal before. It even pained him a little to say it. “You have done me a great favor by summoning me away from Shinra’s clutches. I do not wish to return for as long as possible. Therefore, you will charge me to stay here until I wish to be dismissed, and, in exchange, I will do no harm to you or your property, nor to anyone or anything else in the immediate vicinity (this was intentionally left vague in the hopes that it would be missed) while I am here.”

The boy blinked, stared at him, looked back down at the pentacles again, then back up to Sephiroth, speechless.

“Well?” 

“I—” He cleared his throat and gathered what little there was left of his courage. “I charge you, Sephiroth, to stay here until you wish to be dismissed. You will not cause any harm to the surrounding village or the people in it unless I order you to.” He let out a relieved exhale, and the invisible barriers of the pentacle vanished. 

Sephiroth stepped out and stretched his human muscles. The kid had given him more freedom than he knew what to do with, really. He could shift as he liked, go wherever he pleased. Though that last bit—he wondered what cause the child might have to need to order him to hurt someone. 

It was hardly any of his concern, though, so he headed towards the door. His first shift would be outside, at the beginning of dawn, into a crow that would let him soar for as long as he wanted. The door made a creaking noise as he pushed it open.

“Cloud? Are you awake already?” a voice called from further in the house.

Sephiroth turned back to the boy. _Cloud._ His grin turned feral and his teeth sharpened into fangs before he remembered that the last thing he wanted to do right now was to kill his current master. It surely was unfortunate. 

Cloud froze in shock. The sound of footsteps got closer to the door. 

He changed into the crow, fast and undignified and _not_ what he wanted his first taste of freedom in a long, long time to feel like, and hurried underneath the bed. There was no point in alerting anyone else of his presence, after all. Waiting just a little more was fine.

“Hey, Mom,” Cloud said, quickly exiting the room and closing the door behind him. 

“You’re up early today,” Sephiroth heard her reply as he came out from under the bed. “Did you not sleep well? I heard you mumbling to yourself last night.”

Sephiroth assessed the room. He could leave via the window, but it would be difficult to open with his claws. He could slip under the door as an insect, but it would be difficult to navigate his way outside. With a sigh, he shifted back into a human, opened the latch, changed back into the crow, then climbed out.

Ah, freedom. The queasiness of shifting so quickly made his left wing falter just a bit before he recovered, soaring above the mountaintops. He flew higher and higher with no Midgar in sight. Good. He was probably far enough that Shinra would never find him before he needed to return to the Lifestream. 

He was grateful. If he ever crossed paths with Cloud again, however unlikely, he would not reveal the boy’s name. For now, he let all thoughts of underground labs and blood and endless violence go from his mind and enjoyed the rush of air through his feathers.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> started rereading the bartimaeus sequence and immediately wrote this. if you liked this please check it out, its my fav book series!! 
> 
> (there may be a sequel to this in the works...)


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank you all so much for the kind comments and kudos!! this chapter is actually a sort of prequel/companion piece to the first part, but i promise there is an actual continuation in the works!! it'll be posted as a separate work in the series, so please subscribe to that if you'd like <3

The Shinra manor was haunted.

Everyone in Nibelheim _knew,_ and the other kids always spread rumors of seeing curtains moving, lights flickering, strange haunting wails coming from the building, but he’d never experienced it himself. 

The door gave an ominous creak as he pushed it open. He took a slow, cautious step over the threshold—and then a chilling laugh sounded from everywhere and nowhere at once and he flinched back and glanced around nervously. 

There was nothing but the dimly lit expanse of the foyer, sunlight barely streaming in through the grimy windows, curtains covered in dust. The soft scuffle of his shoes against the floor seemed much too loud in the clearly abandoned space.

He took a deep breath and steeled himself. 

He took another step forward.

Then he fell, face-first into an endless abyss that swallowed the ground underneath him.

* * *

When he woke, he was staring directly at the ceiling. He squinted at the light in his eyes and sat up. A wave of dizziness crashed over him. Why was he here? Where was he? The last thing he remembered was—oh.

This definitely wasn’t the foyer. He had to at least be somewhere else in the mansion, like a hidden room or something. The walls were lined with bookshelves upon bookshelves, and there was a desk in the middle of the room with a chair in front of it. Everything was covered in a fine layer of dust. He picked up a book at random, opened it, and immediately sneezed. 

The pages were filled with some sort of strange runes he had no idea about, so he set it back down and walked over to the desk. A single book laid open alongside a stack of handwritten notes that were barely legible. He brushed away the dust.

_[SUMMONING PENTACLE FOR HIGHEST CLASS DEMONS]_   
_Note: The summoning words are the same [see index vii]. This pentacle incorporates extra protections to ward against the most powerful demons. Proceed with caution._

There was a picture of an intricate circle surrounded with the same runes he’d seen in the other book, along with labeled spots for candles and herbs. He flipped the page.

_KNOWN HIGHEST CLASS DEMONS_   
_Note: While Jenova is known as the “mother” of all demons, its summoning method is still unknown._

_Genesis_   
_Sephiroth_

Those were the only two names he recognized from the long, long list that spanned over several pages, with notes about alternate names and notable magicians that had summoned them. He riffled quickly through the rest of the pages, but there were even more terms he didn’t understand: Lifestream, Materia, WEAPON. He resolved to take it with him, tucking it under his arm and looking at the papers next.

_Summon#54_   
_Subject G has begun to respond to visual stimuli. Mako levels are stable._

That was as far as he got before the desk itself moved—pushing away from him by seemingly nothing and sending the papers flying. The lights began to flicker.

He ran.

In the next room, there was a spiral staircase leading up and up and up, and he scraped his knees as he tripped on a step, barely feeling the pain as he went as fast as he could. With the book clutched securely to his chest, he gasped for breath and tried to steady himself against the wall with his other hand. He breathed out a sigh of relief as he reached the end, and ran straight for the door in the room at the top of the stairs to find himself above the foyer. He dashed down the steps and to the entrance, slipping through the small opening through the doors he’d left earlier, and didn’t stop running until he reached the front door of his house, quickly pulling it open and closing it behind him. 

“Cloud? Is that you?” his mom called from inside.

“Yeah, I’m back,” he answered, hiding the book behind his back and quickly heading to his room. He shoved it in the dresser drawer just as his mom walked in.

“How’s Tifa doing?”

“She’s fine, Mom.”

“You stayed over for dinner?”

“Oh, uh, yeah. She invited me,” he lied through his teeth, and only then did it sink in that it was dark outside—he’d entered the manor in the late afternoon.

“I’m glad you two are still getting along.” She smiled warmly at him, and walked over to give him a hug, gently ruffling his hair. “You should get some rest, now.”

“Okay, Mom. Good night.”

“Good night,” she said back, and closed the door behind her. 

He finally let himself breathe out another sigh of relief. He opened the drawer and took out the book.

_ADVANCED GUIDE TO DEMON SUMMONS_

_I. Introduction_

There were long paragraphs upon paragraphs he didn't want to bother making sense of, so he skipped back to the important page from earlier: the picture of the pentacle. Getting candles and chalk would be easy, and then he would just need to borrow some of his mom’s herbs from the kitchen. He flipped to Index VII. 

_SUMMONING WORDS_   
_Note: [Name] indicates the name of the demon. The following page also includes carefully worded clauses to protect the summoner and their surroundings._

It wasn’t terribly long, but he couldn't understand most of it, let alone know what the proper pronunciation of the words were. 

He would try, though. He _needed_ to. 

He’d gotten in and out of the manor alive. He had the book to prove it. If he could successfully summon a demon, well, no one would be able to call him weak anymore, right? He could protect himself. He could protect Tifa, his mom, anyone else.

He could have a shot at becoming SOLDIER.

So when he came to the part where he needed to pick a demon to summon, there was only one answer.

_Sephiroth._

* * *

For a few seconds, nothing happened.

Then, the unmistakable smell of mako in the air, as if a spring straight from the Planet itself had appeared within the pentacle opposite his. Wisps of blue-green coalesced, danced through the air, illuminated the room and gave everything a pulsating, turquoise glow; it flowed and condensed, forming shards sharp enough to kill, which in turn solidified together into larger crystals that sent the light into countless rays in every direction. 

The brightness made him squint, and when the light finally died down it revealed an image he’d memorized down to the last detail from the few pictures that existed. He blinked. Nothing changed.

“You’re...Sephiroth?” He was caught by those bright green, cat-slit eyes that seemed to glow in the dark. They looked weary, almost, downcast and nothing like the cold confidence he knew. They widened when he spoke. The corners of the demon’s lips upturned just a little.

“Why have you summoned me, child?” Sephiroth’s voice surrounded him from all sides, consuming everything with the lilt of his slightly amused tone, as if Cloud was a particularly annoying fly. The spark of irritation he felt—being looked down upon without even a chance to prove himself—snapped him out of his dreamlike trance, and he glared pointedly back.

“I’m not—” _A child,_ he meant to say, then cut himself off. This wasn’t the place for that. “I—” Everything he’d ever imagined, dreamt of, rehearsed to himself escaped him at that moment. What tumbled out was the truth: “I didn’t expect it to work.”

He was determined. He had had a plan, which started with sneaking into the Shinra manor in hopes of finding something that would help him learn to summon a demon, and then do it. It was stupid enough and foolish enough to get him, at worst, killed, and now that actual honest-to-gods Sephiroth was standing in his bedroom, he didn’t know what to do. He might even be hallucinating this.

He was too busy panicking to notice that Sephiroth had started to slowly edge towards him, as close as he could without overstepping the pentacle. Again, the demon pinned him with just his gaze.

“What is your name?”

The question overloaded his senses; he processed it only in the back of his mind while mako-tinged energy shimmered all around him, compelling him to move _just a little closer…_

His mother had once told him about demons when he asked. In Nibelheim, they were like a strange, far-off myth fabricated to explain the impressive feat of Shinra technology. The same energy used in mako reactors made up demons themselves, and they needed to be summoned in a very specific way which only experts at Shinra and members of SOLDIER knew. You had to be careful when speaking with them—they would kill you if you slipped up even a little, which was why it was left to the magicians who knew what they were doing. She’d given him a warning about something—he hadn’t thought to question it then.

In that moment, he remembered her words: _Names have power, Cloud. Be careful, okay?_

This was Sephiroth—the signature of Shinra—a demon of the highest class that single handedly won against Wutai’s own demons, who wielded a long silver-tipped blade that tore open mako energy and human flesh alike. That power simmered only a few feet away, tearing at any semblance that Cloud had control over the situation.

But the magic of the pentacle stayed sound, and Sephiroth could not reach any closer than the outermost edge. “I am _not_ falling for that,” he retorted, “I’m not stupid.”

“And yet you summoned me, Sephiroth, great demon of Wutai, Shinra’s greatest achievement, with no clear goal in mind and a slightly smudged pentacle.”

He panicked, glancing down at the runes at Sephiroth’s feet, around his own. He found only stray bits of chalk powder staining the floorboards outside of the pentacles and chanced a look back up at Sephiroth. The demon wore that infuriatingly amused expression again. He cursed under his breath. Sephiroth was right; he didn’t have an order for him anyways, and he had no idea what Shinra would do if they found out some kid had summoned their most prized possession. He’d proved that he _could,_ in this space where no one else would ever know. It was enough, right? 

“A-anyways,” he said, not meaning to stutter, “I really didn’t think it would work. So, um, I’ll just dismiss you now, so you can get back to—”

“Wait.” Sephiroth held up a hand, and Cloud found himself hanging onto every word. “You have done me a great favor by summoning me away from Shinra’s clutches. I do not wish to return for as long as possible. Therefore, you will charge me to stay here until I wish to be dismissed, and, in exchange, I will do no harm to you or your property, nor to anyone or anything else in the immediate vicinity while I am here.”

Sephiroth wanted to...stay? Here? He checked and rechecked the pentacles, looked back across to Sephiroth. 

“Well?”

You’re not supposed to listen to demons, especially if they try to make deals with you that seem harmless on the surface, because it was surely a trap. The sections of the book he skimmed had made that clear, too. Demons took any chance they had to escape, would kill you if they could.

“I—” He cleared his throat, threw caution to the winds, inhaled the lingering scent of mako. “I charge you, Sephiroth, to stay here until you wish to be dismissed. You will not cause any harm to the surrounding village or the people in it unless I order you to.” If he had to order Sephiroth to protect him, he would. He let out a relieved exhale and waited. 

Sephiroth stepped out of the pentacle. Nothing exploded. The room didn’t burst into flames. Without a second glance, the demon strode towards the door and opened it—it was then that Cloud realized “here” could mean whatever Sephiroth interpreted it to be, even the whole Planet.

Before he could rethink it, his mother called from the kitchen, “Cloud? Are you awake already?”

In that split second, his thoughts bounced from _Sephiroth is almost completely out of my control_ to _my mom is going to find out I summoned a demon_ to _Sephiroth knows my real name and he’s going to kill me._ The terror that gripped him now was not unlike the one in the mansion, though this time he stayed rooted to the floor, completely helpless as Sephiroth turned back towards him, and he could have sworn the demon’s teeth flashed into fangs that would have surely sunk into his body. 

Instead, Sephiroth vanished.

There was a sound of something scraping against wood. He looked down to just barely see a black wing disappear under the bed. Sephiroth had become a bird.

He was launched violently out of life-or-death panic, and somehow managed to gather himself together just enough to remember that his mom really did _not_ need to discover the incriminating pentacles drawn on his floor. He slipped through the door and closed it behind him, nearly running straight into her.

“Hey, Mom,” he said, trying to sound just barely awake instead of terrified out of his mind. 

“You’re up early today,” she remarked, starting to head back to the kitchen. “Did you not sleep well? I heard you mumbling to yourself last night.”

“Yeah, I—” he cut himself off with a yawn. He hadn’t slept at all, couldn’t rest until he tried at least once. “I’m still pretty tired.”

“Well, why don’t you sleep for a little longer? I’ll reheat breakfast for you later,” his mother suggested with all the care in the world, and guilt ate away at his insides. The truth almost spilled out of his mouth, but he bit his lip and steeled himself.

“Okay,” he said instead. He quietly padded to the bathroom, grabbing a wet washcloth to scrub the chalk off the floor.

When he returned to his bedroom, any sign of Sephiroth was gone—except for the open window.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i really wanted to set up some extra hints at what the world is like from cloud's pov hehe. thanks for reading!


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